Once Upon A Time in a Christmas Bakery
by noxsoulmate
Summary: What would Christmas Time be without a little fun in a Christmas Bakery?


**Note:** Hey :D yes, this is a one shot in the Once Upon A Time verse, but also part of the SPN Mixtape Challenge, which means it can be read as a standalone (although in that case you might wanna read the "previously on" ;) ).

This one shot was never really planned, but many people ask me to write about Dean and Cas' second date, and then the SPN Mixtape Challenge came along and here we are :)

It took me a while to upload it here, because I've actually written another story in between and I was debating about how to best upload that one, because it's my DCBB, so it includes art and also a lot of links to songs (because Dean is a singer/songwriter in that one) – now I've decided to just skip it and to not upload it here at all, for obvious reasons. So if you would like to read it, jump over to ao3 and find me there (same name) and you'll find the story. It's called "When I See You Again".

Now back to this fic:

 **Inspired by:** "In the Christmas Bakery" (originally a German kids' song called "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei").

 **Previously on "Once Upon A Time":** Castiel Novak had lost his voice for the last few days thanks to circumstances. To be able to work at the Disney Store during the busy Christmas time, he wrote a note, telling kids that Ursula the Sea Witch had taken his voice. His plan worked – until yesterday, when little Mary Winchester took his note seriously and tried to find him a prince to lift the curse. Good thing she has her gorgeous uncle wrapped around her finger. "Prince Dean" came to the rescue and sparks flew instantly. Thanks to the nagging of little Mary, they went out on their first date right away, which ended in the car in front of Castiel's house with an hour long kiss and an invitation for Cas to join Dean and Mary the next day for their Christmas baking …

* * *

 **Once Upon A Time in a Christmas Bakery**

Once Upon a time, little Mary Joanna Winchester was looking forward to spending the day baking Christmas cookies with her favorite uncle.

Apparently, that meant the day had to start shortly before six in the morning and apparently there was no other way to wake her uncle than by jumping on his bed and shaking his shoulder while squealing loudly, "Wake up, wake up, Uncle Dean, wake up."

Dean Winchester, while loving his niece to pieces, tried to ignore her as best as he could. The dream he was having was just too pleasant to be pulled out of. Of course, Mary was having none of it. He really should have been suspicious as soon as her squealing, jumping, and shaking stopped. Just seconds later, a little finger poked against his nose. He didn't react. Another poke against his cheek. _Don't react, play dead, she might stop_. Another poke, this one against the closed eyelid of his left eye. Grunting, Dean turned, pulling the blanket over his head. So much for playing dead. Again, the silence should have had his warning bells ringing, but Dean was still too busy trying to grasp the last wisps of his dream of a gorgeous man with blue eyes and a rough voice …

"UMPF," was all he could grunt out as the full weight of an energetic ball of four and a half year old landed on him. And as if that wasn't enough, little hands found their way to his ribcage and started tickling. True, there was a blanket and a thick comforter shielding him from the attack – but damn, Dean was ticklish there and the little munchkin knew it. He couldn't help but squirm and gasp.

"I'll only stop if you wake up."

The last trace of those wonderful, mysterious blue eyes vanished and with the roar of a dragon, Dean rose, catching his squealing niece before she could tumble off of him. With one smooth move, he had her playfully pinned down on the bed. "You dare to tickle me? Me? The tickle master? That was not wise, little munchkin." He pulled up the top of her Ariel PJs just a little and started blowing raspberries on her tummy. Mary squealed and squirmed and giggled, trying to push his face away.

"No, no," she wheezed out, "Stop, Uncle Dean."

"But you wanted me awake, and now I am," he replied with a mock threatening voice, tickling her lightly before blowing another raspberry on the side of her tummy. "You should be careful what you wish for, little princess. Now you've awoken the tickle master monster, Grrrrr."

He continued for a few more seconds, careful not to hold his niece too tightly – in case she really wanted him to stop she could just roll away. She didn't, though. In fact, she was still giggling when Dean finally stopped his attack with a sweet kiss to her forehead. "Well, I'm awake, happy now, Munchkin?"

"Very," she replied, tackling him so he was falling back on the bed, letting her cuddle against him for a few minutes. Gods, he loved this girl with all he had.

The peaceful moment didn't last long.

"Uncle Deeeaaan?"

Oh no. That was Mary's begging voice. Nothing good could come of that.

"Yes, Munchkin?"

"Sooo, I know this day is special for you –" that it was "– and that you wanted to spend it alone with me –" something nagged at the back of Dean's mind at that comment. "Buuuuut …"

"But?" Dean prompted when Mary didn't continue.

Mary sat up straight, only leaving her little hands on his arm, pleading puppy eyes in full power mode. "But can we please invite Prince Cas? Please?"

 _Prince Cas? Oh … OH!_

Blue eyes.

Unruly, dark hair.

Cute yet sexy smile.

Rough voice like whiskey over gravel.

And the softest lips he'd ever tasted.

Cas.

Not a dream, no, the man had been real.

Mary seemed to read Dean's stunned silence as disapproval and already started babbling while he tried to sort out his thoughts. "Please, Uncle Dean, you liked him as well, I know you did and you're his prince, you're going to marry soon, so you'll have to share me with him anyways and this could be your second date, maybe you could ask him this time if he wants to marry you, because you said you needed to go on a date first before you could marry, but you went on a date yesterday and you didn't ask him and I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye because you let me sleep and I really wanna see him again and –"

"Mary, breathe," Dean stopped her. Trying hard not to laugh, he ignored the comment about the wedding she had apparently already planned for the handsome sales guy – pardon, handsome prince of course – and her uncle, but he made a mental note to talk about it very soon. He just needed a good way to explain to her that one didn't just go and marry handsome strangers after kissing them once … well, okay, twice. For now, though, he had another decision to make: Should he tell her that he already had, in fact, invited Cas last night? That he had basically begged the guy to join them, even though he couldn't eat Mary's share of the portion of the batter? That he'd heroically promised half of his so Cas would say yes? Not that he had gotten much resistance, he remembered with a bewitched smile, but still.

"Please, Uncle Dean," Mary repeated, pulling Dean out of his thoughts once more. "I'll even share my cookie dough with him. I promise he won't eat any of yours."

At that, Dean raised one questioning eyebrow. Mary wanted Cas here _that much_?

"Ohh well," Dean sighed dramatically. No way could he tell her now that Cas had already promised to be there. Let Mary think it had been her idea. "I guess in that case it would be alr –"

"YAAAAAAY," Mary screamed, throwing herself around Dean's neck and squeezing tight. One day, Dean was sure of it, she would cuddle him to death. Meh, he could live with that. "We have to go to the Disney Store and ask him to come."

"Or," Dean picked up his phone from the bedside table and held it up like a trophy, "we could just text him."

"Ohhh, can I?"

Letting Mary on his phone? Nope, not a good idea, he had learned his lesson.

"How about I'll take a picture of you and you tell me what you want me to write beneath it."

His niece seemed to think about it very hard before finally nodding in approval. "Can we write him now?"

"No, Munchkin, we can't."

"Why not?"

"Because normal people are still asleep at this time of day on a Sunday. And because you look cuter once you've had your pancakes."

"PANCAKES!"

Quickly, Mary jumped off of the bed and raced out of his bedroom. The temptation of just sinking back into the warm, fluffy heaven was strong, very strong. The prospect of meeting Castiel very soon, however, was stronger. As were Mary's yells for pancakes. So instead of dreaming any longer, Dean got up, pulled on his sweatpants, and left to join his niece in the kitchen.

Sam would probably kill him if he knew that Dean fed his daughter pancakes on a day they were planning to bake and therefore eat lots of sweet things anyway. But honestly, no little princess should have to suffer through a breakfast of oatmeal. Not in his house and not on his watch.

* * *

Once upon a time, Castiel Novak had the most amazing dream of his life, where he was robbed of his voice and was saved by a handsome prince with beautiful green eyes.

A noise startled him awake and immediately he knew he'd overslept. Well, not really overslept, since it was Sunday and his free day, but still. He checked his phone for the time. 10.27 am was still a reasonable time to wake up on the weekends, right? And it's not like he had anywhere to be.

The blinking light on his cellphone told him he had at least one missed message so he swiped over the screen, entered his code – and was bombarded with an armada of messages of all kinds: missed calls, voice mails, text messages, Facebook chats, and even a few e-mails. "What the heck?"

 _Please don't let anyone be sick, I really don't wanna go in to work today, please._

Making sure that wasn't the case, Cas checked the group chat from work first, but nothing new there. His private chat with his favorite co-workers however, was the one that really had exploded.

 _ **[Anna]: I'm telling you, he's just ignoring us because you annoyed him so much.**_

 _ **[Meg]: Or he is too busy to actually answer ;)**_

 _ **[Hannah]: Please stop, both of you. I'll see you in twenty minutes at the store. Cas, sweety, please let us know at some point that you're still alive?**_

 _ **[Meg]: Yeah, and if you got lucky last night!**_

 _ **[Anna]: MEG!**_

 _ **[Hannah]: Meg!**_

And that was just the tail end of the messages. Cas tried to make sense of the words, but his sleep addled mind couldn't work it out while he numbly scrolled further up, trying to find the beginning of this particular conversation.

Before he got there, the notification for a new text message came in. A new text by _**Prince Dean**_.

Cas' eyes went wide and he almost dropped his phone.

"Holy shit!"

Green eyes.

Freckles.

An award winning smile.

A laugh that had him all mushy inside.

And oh those lips.

Cas touched his own lips, remembering the kiss they had shared last night.

No dream. That had been no dream.

And Dean was already texting him, no stupid three-day-rule.

Wait. Sunday.

Cas' head snapped up. "Christmas baking! Oh, fuck."

Quickly, he opened the message thread and right away, he was greeted by a picture of sweet little Mary, sitting in a shopping cart full of all the things one would need for Christmas baking. A text message was added to the picture, but before he could read it, a new one popped up:

 _ **[Prince Dean] Hey man, sorry to spam you like this. If you don't wanna join us anymore that's okay. Just please let me know so I can tell Mary.**_

 _Oh, no. Please no._

Before he could read anything else, Cas quickly typed out a message and sent it:

 _ **[Me] Dean, I'm so sorry. I completely overslept and just woke up. Let me catch up on your other messages – but I can already tell you: Of course I still want to come over! Sorry again.**_

He held his breath, but there was no indication that Dean had seen the message. Cursing, he scrolled up to find the start of Dean "spamming" him. It was less than he'd thought, so he accidentally scrolled too far, ending up at the very top of the conversation that had started last night: The picture of cute little Mary in Ariel PJs, fast asleep and cuddling close to the stuffed Flounder Anna had given her just yesterday. The text that accompanied the picture simply read _**Dreaming of her prince?**_ and it was directly followed by the selfie of Dean's profile, head on a pillow, eyes closed as if he was sleeping, a soft smile playing on his lips, with the cheesy text of: _**I know I am.**_ Cas still couldn't look at it without smiling and feeling extremely giddy. _**Dork :)**_ had been his answer, before he'd sent his own selfie with a similar pose to Dean's, only his head the other way around so if they had been in the same bed, they would have been facing each other. _**Me too**_ was all he'd added.

That had been the last he remembered. The first message of this morning had arrived shortly before 9 am. It was a picture of Mary, holding up a paper that had writing on it in various colors, obviously written by the girl herself: **Prince Cas, do you wanna bake a snowman?**

Huffing a laugh, Cas could hardly contain his smile as he started reading all the messages that followed this cute picture.

 _ **[Prince Dean] Dear Prince Cas. Uncle Dean is not giving me his phone, but he promised to write everything I tell him. We're making cookies today and can you please join us? It really is fun and Uncle Dean makes really yummy cookies. And I really miss you, so will you please come over?**_

The message was so sweet and Cas could kick himself for not being awake to answer right away. He could only hope the little princess did not think Cas didn't like her anymore. Although he was confused about the question. Did Dean not tell her he had already said yes last night? The next message explained it:

 _ **[Prince Dean] Hey Cas :) don't worry, I didn't forget I already asked you, but this morning, Mary begged me to let her invite you. So who am I to break her little heart by telling her it's already done, right?**_

 _ **[Prince Dean] Also, sorry for the early message spamming on a Sunday – but hey, I've already been awake for three hours by now, be glad I could distract the little munchkin for this long before she threatened to tickle me again, if I didn't text you already.**_

 _ **[Prince Dean] (I'm not ticklish!)**_

Cas ignored the feeling in his stomach as he remembered how Dean acted around his little niece. He was probably just hungry, that's all. Most certainly, these were no butterflies.

 _ **[Prince Dean] You still wanna come over, right? I mean, if you've changed your mind, it's okay. Here's my address btw.**_

Cas tried not to let the uneasy feeling kill him too much. That message had been sent about forty minutes after the first ones – long enough for Cas to answer had he been awake.

The next message had been sent shortly before 10 am, so about half an hour ago. It was a picture again, showing a selfie of Dean in his car, Mary in her kid seat in the back, grinning and waving at him, Flounder in one arm.

 _ **[Prince Dean] Heading out to the supermarket to get some more stuff. Do you have a favorite recipe? Need anything special?**_

He could really hit himself right now. How had he not been awake for all these little snippets? Of course Cas had favorite recipes. Thankfully, none of them needed anything special. At least nothing he didn't have at home, so he could just get it from his own stock. But there was just something about Dean asking him if he needed anything … damn, he should really eat breakfast, the turmoil in his stomach wouldn't stop. No butterflies, though, nope.

The next picture was the one Cas had seen as he'd opened the conversation thread: Mary sitting in a shopping cart, reigning over flour, sugar, eggs, food coloring, powdered sugar, and a host of other baking ingredients. The text was short and it kind of pierced Cas' heart.

 _ **[Prince Dean] Almost done. Last chance for special requests.**_

After reading the whole conversation (well, the "spam", really), Dean's last message hurt even more. But what was worse was the fact that Cas' hastily written reply was still unanswered. Gulping the bad feeling down, he quickly typed out a new message.

 _ **[Me] I could hit myself right now for sleeping so long. I really am sorry. Thank you so much for all the messages and please tell the little princess that we will bake as many snowmen together as she wants. I do have some favorite recipes, but they don't need any unusual ingredients. I'll get ready now and would love to join you as soon as you'll have me … and I hope you'll still have me, because I was really looking forward to this.**_

Holding his breath, Cas finally decided that the time waiting was better spent getting ready.

He was in the middle of his quick shower when his phone notified him of a new text message and he couldn't get his hands dry quick enough to read it. If it was another message from his friends, he would kill them.

 _ **[Prince Dean] Well, good morning then, Sleeping Beauty, sorry I wasn't there to save you with a kiss. Again ;)**_

 _ **[Prince Dean] Seriously though, happy you didn't change your mind. It would have broken Mary's heart …**_

Cas felt like the three little dots told him all he needed to know and grinning, he hastily typed his reply before jumping back under the shower and rinsing off the suds.

 _ **[Me] Never. Her heart is safe with me …**_

He was almost done drying off when the next text came in.

 _ **[Prince Dean] Good to know :) Mary asks when you'll be joining us.**_

 _ **[Me] Shouldn't be long, you don't live that far away. I just need to get some breakfast and then I'll be there. Say 30 minutes?**_

 _ **[Prince Dean] Skip breakfast, have lunch with us?**_

 _ **[Me] In that case, I'll be there in 15.**_

 _ **[Prince Dean] Can't wait. Don't forget your recipes.**_

Cas had used the moments while Dean had been answering to quickly finish up in the bathroom and to throw on something comfy. For just a moment, he thought about if maybe he should wear a nicer outfit, but then again, they would be baking, so wearing a nice button down seemed way over the top. Instead, he threw on his favorite Star Wars shirt and a knitted sweater over it, a light blue one with white, Christmas-y pattern over the chest. It was one of his favorites and it fitted the season, so why the hell not? He had a feeling that with Dean, he wouldn't need to hide his true self and his dorky sweaters, as Meg liked to call them, were a part of that. Besides, he had no desire to ever change himself for a guy again. He was over that, so Dean would either have to accept him like this, or not at all.

Plus, the super tight jeans he added perfectly showed off his ass, so there was that.

He didn't have time to shave and his hair was still a bit unruly, but oh well. People seemed to like his roguish looks, so why not go with it?

Running downstairs, he took a quick glance around the kitchen to order his thoughts. Getting out a shopping bag, he put his handwritten baking book in, as well as jars of his favorite honey and currant jelly. Making sure he had his wallet, phone, and keys he put his boots on as well as his trench coat before leaving the house, counting himself lucky that his brother Gabriel hadn't noticed anything.

* * *

Once upon a time, Dean Winchester was on an adventurous quest while impatiently awaiting his text messages to be answered.

Not hearing from Cas after several texts had left him in a grumpy mood and he was man enough to admit it. Not letting it show in front of his little princess had cost him a lot and her constant questioning if Prince Cas had already answered did not help at all. So, to say he was relieved when Cas' answer finally did come, was a bit of an understatement. He almost felt weak with relief and as soon as he was done at the checkout and all the things were safely back in his car, he typed out a reply before driving the short distance home.

"Prince Cas just wrote back," he told Mary as they started unpacking. "He'll be here soon."

"Yay," Mary squealed, dropping the bag she was holding to hug Dean's leg. Good thing he had decided not to give her anything breakable. The flour packs would survive, yet Dean made sure to admonish his niece for it anyways.

Together, they had all the stuff inside in no time and Dean let Mary sit on the countertop so she could sort all the food colorings and decorations in a logical way only she understood. He put a plate with sliced carrots and goldfish crackers next to her to nibble on. Meanwhile, he searched for some music on the radio. A channel that played Christmas songs combined with Disney melodies won the battle against classic rock. Dean didn't mind too much, especially not once Mary started to sing along. Satisfied with his choice, he started sorting through the rest of all their baking ingredients. Once there was a semblance of order he wiped down the kitchen island and prepped it, before getting down his mother's old baking book to search for his favorite recipes.

When the doorbell rang, Mary let out an excited squeal and Dean had to catch her before she could jump off the counter. His little princess ran ahead and had the door already open before he got even close to it. Normally he would reprimand her, but they both knew who would be waiting on the other side and Mary's loud scream of, "Prince Cas," confirmed it. By the time he reached the door, she was hugging the man's legs.

Pulling the door further open, he was met with the blue eyes from his dream. No, scratch that. Not even in his wildest dreams could he have made up these amazing eyes and … and Dean Winchester seriously needed to hand in his manly man card. God, he was turning into such a sap.

"Hello, Dean."

Oh, screw the manly man card.

"Heya, Cas," Dean answered, a smile settling on his lips that he was pretty sure wouldn't go away for the remainder of the day.

Seeing Cas now, after their turbulent first meeting and subsequent first date just a few hours ago felt almost unreal. Seriously, not even twelve hours ago, they'd been making out in the impala like two horny teenagers. So was this their second date? Or was this just two friends meeting to entertain a little princess? Were they even friends? Could he kiss him again? God, he really hoped Cas would be game for some more kissing.

Neither man had a chance to react in any way before Mary was pulling Cas inside the house and towards the kitchen, not even giving him time to take off his trench coat.

"Look, Prince Cas. You have to see what we got. New cookie cutters! Look, they're snowmen."

And thus, Dean realized that this would turn out to be two friends meeting to entertain a little princess. He could work with that. Because seeing Cas interact with Mary was maybe one of the best ways to his heart.

After taking Cas' coat from him and sharing a secret smile over Mary's excitement, a plan was quickly laid out. Almost all of the dough needed to rest in the fridge for a while. Dean had planned to get them all done before Mary's nap, which she would most likely refuse to take, but he was already counting the minutes until she became cranky and tired. He was counting on the extra sugar from snacking on left over dough to keep her awake just long enough to get stage one of the Christmas baking done. Cas reassured him that he would be fine getting the promised breakfast-lunch once Mary was in bed and so together they searched their two baking books – and wasn't it just a coincidence that they both kept handwritten ones? They decided on five different types: Chocolate macaroons, which needed no time in the fridge, so Dean decided they would do the batter around the time Mary woke up and then have them be first in the oven; cut-out cookies on which Mary would be able to go nuts on with her colorful decorations; hazelnut crescents, Dean's favorites as well as Jess' so he needed to make sure they would have lots of these; basic chocolate-nut-cookies, because they were Mary's favorites and Dean had lost the argument against her how they weren't really Christmas cookies ("They're cookies and I wanna eat them at Christmas. That makes them Christmas cookies!"); and last but not least jam jam cookies from Cas' book. He had even brought the right jam and honey for it. Perfect.

Mixing together the various dough recipes was way more fun than Dean could have hoped for. They let Mary sit on the kitchen island and of course she got the most important job of all: adding all the ingredients Dean had carefully measured so Cas could mix them. One dough after another was finished and moved to the fridge. It already smelled amazing, even though the cookies hadn't reached the oven yet.

Of course there was lots of sampling cookie dough and Mary made it a game to see how much she could nip without Dean noticing. He noticed it every time, but pretended not to. Mary knew he allowed her some – but he probably shouldn't let her have as much as he did. But oh well, it was their special day.

Cas wasn't much better, stealing left overs and sharing with Mary whenever they thought Dean wasn't looking – and Dean did the same. It was a fun game.

As it was to sing together. The fact that Cas had just suffered from losing his voice for the last few days seemed not to bother the man as he sang one duet with Mary after another. When "Part Of Your World" from Ariel came up, Dean pulled out his cellphone to record them. He knew Mary had the lyrics of the song down pat and Cas was amazing at joining in without taking over. Quite on the contrary, he was able to get the best out of her and together they sang the song in such a lovely way that Dean simply had to send the video to his brother. The two were still singing and secretly sneaking dough, when Sam's reply came in.

 _ **[Bitch] Keep him, he makes my girl smile.**_

Dean was just about to reply, when Sam added:

 _ **[Bitch] As well as you!**_

 _ **[Me] Shut up, Bitch**_

 _ **[Bitch] Whatever, Jerk**_

Grinning, Dean was about to put his phone away, when it chirped again.

 _ **[Bitch] Don't let her have too much dough! It's not healthy!**_

 _ **[Me] You let her come here, knowing what would happen. Now you have no say in it.**_

 _ **[Bitch] Dean!**_

Instead of answering, he just put his phone away, ignoring any further messages.

Soon after, they had all the dough in the fridge and even though Mary was still singing and on a small sugar high, Dean could see first signs of her tiring. Checking the timer on his oven, he saw that it had just turned noon.

"Alright, I guess it's time for little princesses to take a nap."

"Nooooo."

While there were many times where Dean would let her have her way, with some things he was adamant. Such as nap time.

"Well, you can be a big girl about it, give Prince Cas a hug and maybe even get a nap time story out of this. Or you can be a little baby, whine all you want, go to bed anyways and miss out on all of these things. Maybe even miss the rest of the Christmas baking."

His girl was a clever one and without any further fussing, she held out her arms to hug Cas. "Don't go away, okay?"

"Don't worry, Princess Mary. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Good," Mary replied, giving Cas a quick kiss on his cheek that seemed to surprise the man. After that, Mary let go of him and stretched out her arms for Dean to pick her up. Before he did, he checked her hair and to his great joy, there was no baking stuff in it. No need for a bath before her nap then.

Picking her up, he turned to Cas before leaving. "I'll just be a few minutes. Make yourself comfortable. I know I promised to make lunch, but I need to put her down first."

"Don't worry, it's fine, really. I can wait, don't worry about me."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Put her down before she falls asleep completely. Those eyes are already quite heavy." With a soft touch and an affectionate smile that made Dean all mushy on the inside, Cas brushed a strand of hair out of Mary's eyes. Dean wanted to lean in so badly and kiss that smile, but he caught himself. His niece needed sleep and seeing how quiet she was, she was probably halfway there.

"Okay, just a few minutes."

He took the steps carefully, making sure not to jostle his munchkin awake. As he lay her down in her bed, her eyes were already closed. Knowing better than to leave right away, Dean sat down and still got the book of fairytales out. He didn't need to ask which one she wanted – no matter how much she loved Ariel, the story he had to read for nap time and bed time was Cinderella, and nothing else. And even though it wasn't part of the original fairytale, he always had to add the iconic "Once upon a time".

"Once upon a time, the wife of a rich man fell ill, and as she felt her end approaching, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said –"

"Uncle Dean?"

"Well, that's not what she said, but yes, Munchkin?"

"Do you like Prince Cas?"

Now, that was a new approach.

"I do, yes. Why do you ask?"

"I like him too."

"And he likes you." If nothing else, that Dean was sure of. No man could be as affectionate with a kid that wasn't their own if they didn't like them. For that alone he admired the man.

Mary's eyes were open again and on him. They were still sleepy, but his little girl had more to say. "Can you please marry him? Then he'll be my uncle too."

"I'll see what I can do," Dean promised, not wanting to get into a discussion of such things with a half asleep four and a half year old. "But only if you close your eyes now and sleep."

Instead of listening to him, Mary sat up to give him a kiss on his cheek, before snuggling back into bed with her Flounder. Dean got as far as the part where Cinderella got her name – so not far at all – before Mary was sound asleep. Putting the book on her bedside table, he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead before getting up and quietly leaving the room and his sleeping princess.

* * *

Seeing Dean carry Mary up the stairs, Cas leaned back against the counter and huffed a soft laugh. Had anyone told him just twenty four hours ago that today, he would be standing in the kitchen of someone who was basically a stranger, baking Christmas cookies with a little girl and a man he had met just yesterday, yet feeling a kind of domestic bliss he hadn't felt in years, if ever … it was safe to say he wouldn't have believed that person.

The thought that despite everything Dean was basically still a stranger reminded Cas that he should let his friends know he was still alive. Getting his phone out, he pulled the group chat up, ignoring the more recent messages that had been added. In a few words, he let them know he was alive, had had a good first date – and was currently on his second one. That should keep them entertained.

Looking around the kitchen, he decided it was best to start cleaning up. Dean had a spacious kitchen, with many personal touches. There were shelves with cooking and baking books that all looked well used rather than for decoration. Many colorful drawings were pinned to one wall and Cas was pretty sure they had not all been colored by Mary. Maybe they were from Dean's little students as well? Cas knew he was an elementary teacher, but he hadn't asked which grade he taught. The fridge was covered in pictures as well, showing what Cas guessed were friends and family. He recognized Mary's parents, Sam and Jess, as well as Mary herself. There was that guy from the coffee shop – Benny? But there were so many more, men and women alike. He didn't want to snoop, but he did notice that with some, Dean seemed to be pretty close. All in all, the kitchen was filled with love and Cas took a safe guess that Dean spent a lot of time in here.

He was almost done with all the bowls and mixing devices when he heard Dean come back down.

"Cas, man, you shouldn't have done that. You're a guest."

Turning towards the man, he gave him a reassuring smile. "It's alright, I really don't mind. And besides, this way I'll get my promised lunch quicker, so totally selfish here."

Shaking his head, Dean chuckled about his comment, already strolling towards his fridge.

He threw together a lunch for both of them, getting all the stuff needed to make sandwiches. After finishing up with the cleaning, Cas put his own together while Dean made a fruit salad. However, Cas noticed he didn't touch it himself once it was done.

"You're not much for healthy food, am I right?"

The man took the light ribbing in his stride, only grinning at him before answering. "I'm a warrior, I can't survive on rabbit food."

"A warrior?"

"Hell yes. Have you ever taught a bunch of rascals? It's war, trust me."

Cas couldn't argue with that. After all, his work at the Disney Store had him in close proximity to kids as well. Thinking of some of his worst cases, he was actually glad he was never left alone with multiple specimens. And for endless hours. Shuddering, Cas nodded. "Point taken."

Dean chuckled once more – a sound Cas had grown incredibly fond of quite quickly, if he was honest with himself – and started on his own sandwich. "And don't worry. I do actually make sure that Mary eats something healthy now and then. But her father is a real nut job with her nourishment, so if it wasn't for me, that poor thing would miss out on so much amazing food."

"I think it has already been established that you're a great uncle," Cas replied, not even caring that it sounded only partly sincere, a bit sassy, and a hell of a lot flirty. The grin Dean gave him while looking up part way through the sandwich-making was sinful as hell and so worth it. To be honest, Cas had a hard time not getting into this man's personal space and just kissing him senseless. He found himself feeling the urge since the moment he had seen Dean again today. The tight gray shirt and the red and gray plaid shirt he wore loosely over it didn't help much in taming his feelings. Dean looked simply delicious in the combination. Like Sin personified.

The way Dean slowly, almost unconsciously licked his lips as he looked Cas up and down did not make it any easier.

But it was the middle of the day and there was a little girl asleep upstairs. So no room for naughty times in the kitchen. Besides that, Cas would much rather get to know more about Dean before … well, before _getting to know him_.

Instead of following his urge, Cas took a deep breath and made his way over to the kitchen island, plate with sandwich in one hand and small bowl with fruit salad in his other. "You're also a pretty amazing chef when it comes to Christmas baking, or so it seems. I'm impressed how efficiently we worked and how quickly we got the dough for four different types of cookies done. Where does that talent come from?"

Dean put down his own plate and went back to the fridge to get them both a drink. Holding up a coke in a silent question, he waited for Cas' nod before coming back and joining him at the island, putting both cans of coke down in front of them. "Well, my mom used to bake every year and it's one of the earliest and one of the only memories I have of her. She died shortly before my fifth birthday."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

Dean simply waved away his concern. "Was a long time ago. Anyway, after that my dad was never much into the season. I could never understand it, really, as it was such a huge part of our family and my memories of Mom. When I got older I realized it must have been because the memory hurt just too much. My dad … well, he didn't take my mom's death very well."

"Of course not, he lost a loved one."

Cas only realized his saddened voice must have given him away in some ways when he caught Dean's questioning gaze. Thankfully, though, the man didn't ask and Cas was glad for that. His brother Gabriel was really not a topic he wanted to talk about right now.

Instead, Dean continued. "Anyway, so no real Christmas for us for a few years. Sammy – he was still a baby when Mom died. When he was about five or six, he asked me why other families always decorated their homes for Christmas, but not us. I promised him a real Christmas that year. Made sure Dad got a tree in one of his rare sober moments, got all the old Christmas stuff out of the garage, decorated the whole house myself. And of course Christmas baking was part of it." As if an afterthought just came to mind, Dean chuckled softly. "Got a beating from my old man for almost burning down the house, but Sammy's happy smile made it worth it."

Cas' heart honestly ached for this man. There was so much love there for his family, for his brother and his father, even when he talked about getting a beating. Well, to be fair, even though Cas was against hitting a kid it seemed like young Dean might have deserved it for that special instance. But still.

"How old were you?"

"Must have been nine or ten, don't really remember. Well, the gist of my little tale: Ever since, I did all the Christmas baking, trying harder each year, so Dad wouldn't have a reason to get angry. That's why it's become second nature to me and why I seem so organized."

"You certainly are. Even with a kid in the process you kept your cool and made this all look easy."

"Aww Cas, don't worry. You weren't that bad."

Confused for just a second, Cas could see Dean trying not to laugh. Picking up a small piece of lettuce, he flung it at the man, making him lose control. Dean's laughter was contagious and Cas didn't really try to fight his own grin. It was nice how they could go from a slightly more serious topic to having fun again.

Now that Dean had been talking about Christmas decoration, Cas realized he hadn't actually seen anything else of Dean's house but the front – which was very Christmas-y – and the kitchen. As he mentioned it, Dean graciously offered a partial tour of the house. They put their empty lunch plates in the dishwasher, before taking a tour of the lower level rooms as well as the spacious garden that could be entered either through the living room or the kitchen. Even in the garden, two things were quite obvious: for one, Dean loved Christmas, and two, Dean did everything for his niece, even if it meant having a gigantic princess playhouse in the backyard.

The mystery as to why Dean didn't have kids of his own yet and why he had blocked that question when it came up the other day now came back to Cas' mind. True, he himself didn't have kids yet, but if someone would ask if he wanted some, he would answer with a resounding yes.

Even though he was curious, Cas wouldn't ask again right now. They had already had one serious conversation today and that was more than enough for a second date … well, maybe-date. Cas hoped this counted as a date, because so far, this was shaping up to be very close competition for last night when it came to "best date ever".

* * *

Dean had lost count of how many times he'd wanted to pull Cas close and just kiss him until they were both gasping for breath. They both skirted close to the thin line between respectful distance and shameless flirting. It was actually quite nice, especially after they'd already made out last night. It gave him hope that there could actually be more between them than just simple attraction. So far, they seemed to have a lot of similar interests.

And if nothing else, at least he could tell that Cas was _real_. He didn't try too hard nor was he all fake just to impress. He was real and Dean appreciated that more than anything. Even the dorky sweater he was wearing was awesome, because it kind of fit him.

As they finished the little tour through his house – which Dean was immensely proud of, by the way, because it had been a fixer upper and he had spent a long time to fix it up the way he wanted it – Dean decided to start on the dough for the chocolate macaroons. Before that though, he made one more sandwich for his girl so he could put all the stuff away. The sandwich was wrapped up and put aside for Mary to devour later.

During the whole time Dean worked around the kitchen, they kept talking and Dean got to know more about Cas. After yesterday's date, where he had done most of the talking because Cas' voice had still been a bit rough, today was Castiel's turn.

Dean didn't even mind that he obviously skimmed over some details of his life. For example, he told Dean that right now he lived with his brother, Gabriel, but left out why that was. But that was okay, Dean had done the same yesterday, after all. And he was grateful that Cas hadn't brought it up again – some things simply weren't meant to be discussed on a first, second or even third date.

He now knew that Cas had a degree in music and that he had started to work in the Disney Store to improve his money situation. After college, he'd simply stuck with it because he loved it so much and why change something you love, right?

There were times when both of them felt quiet and listened to the music or their talk about themselves turned into joking around. All in all, Dean couldn't remember ever having a date where he'd been more at ease than this. And he really hoped Cas felt the same way.

Finishing up the dough didn't take too long. By this time, Mary had already napped for over an hour, a fact that astonished her uncle. Not because it wasn't usual for the girl to have long naps, but because for Dean the time had been flying by. He guessed that the little munchkin would be up pretty soon.

Getting them both a new coke, Dean leaned against the kitchen island, mirroring Cas who was casually leaning against the counter. Neither man said anything for a while; they just smiled and let their eyes roam freely over the other's body. Knowing that there was a mutual attraction and being able to openly enjoy the view certainly had its own charm. Yet, even though the atmosphere was charged, it was still comfortable and Dean saw no need to push too far right now. Enjoying the simple things in life, that was his mantra for the day.

"Oh, this is my favorite of all the Disney songs", Cas said out of the blue, his gaze becoming dreamy, looking into the distance. For the first time, Dean paid attention to the music again. "A Whole New World" had just begun. Not the movie-version, the album-version of the song, and Dean had to admit he quite preferred this one. Looking at Cas, who now had his eyes closed and let his head sway just the slightest bit, a silly idea overcame him and without thinking it through any further, he put his coke can down, pushed off of the kitchen island and took a step closer to Cas. Thankfully, the movement was enough to get the man's attention, because Dean had no desire to ruin this moment by talking. When their eyes met, Dean gave him a sweet smile and held out his hand in an obvious gesture. Blue eyes went wide and for just a second, Dean felt self-conscious. Maybe this really was a bit too cheesy …

The smile Cas gave him was breathtaking and in the next moment, he felt a warm hand in his. Pulling the man closer, Dean took a loose pose, already letting the tune of the song pull him into an easy rhythm. Cas followed his lead without hesitation and before either of them really knew what was happening, they let the voices of Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle guide them around the kitchen.

Dean loved dancing and it seemed, so did Cas. He was quite skillful in following Dean's lead and Dean could honestly say it felt like he was floating on air as they danced from the kitchen through the hall and over to the living room. The lights on the Christmas tree as well as over the fireplace gave the room a magical feeling, even though it was still light outside.

He twirled Cas once or twice when the rhythm allowed it, eliciting gleeful laughter from both of them. He liked to believe they made quite the stunning pair and in the back of his mind he was already thinking about taking Cas out to his favorite dance club. But for now, Dean kept all his focus on the gorgeous man in his arms.

As the song slowed down, so did their dancing. Their eyes met and without words, there was so much said between them. For the last few chords, Cas rested his head on Dean's shoulder and Dean closed his eyes, allowing himself to rest his head against Cas'. Their dance had become more of a swaying on the spot, but neither of them minded. This was the closest they'd been all day and Dean not only enjoyed the warmth and the light smell of honey, but also the feeling of finally holding someone in his arms again. Doing that with his family and those few really close friends, yes it was great. But it wasn't the same. Just not the same.

The song had long since ended, yet the two of them were still swaying around, keeping close. At one point most likely neither of them could pinpoint, they both slowly pulled away, but not completely. They were still holding each other close; it'd just been enough so they could look in each other's eyes. Their breaths mingled and Dean was just inches apart from feeling those lips on his again …

"Was this your wedding dance? Are you married now?"

Instead of going in for the kiss, Dean let his forehead drop on Cas shoulder, groaning softly. The bemused chuckle from the man in his arms did not make the situation any better.

"I promise, I'll talk with her about that topic very soon," he whispered into Cas' neck and to his great satisfaction, he felt the other man shiver.

Voice a bit rougher than before, Cas answered, "Don't worry about it." His mouth was so close to Dean's ear when he spoke next that Dean was sure he could feel lips on his skin, it was tingling so much. "Wouldn't be such a bad ending for this story."

The moment the meaning registered in Dean's mind, his head snapped up, but all Cas did was to send him a flirty wink before leaving him to greet the little munchkin. Dean needed a minute to compose himself before he could join them back in the kitchen.

* * *

Cas was pretty sure he was in heaven. Where else would he find a man as perfect as Dean? Yes, the dancing had been cheesy, but it had also been the icing on top of this amazing Christmas cake.

And mentioning Christmas and baking: The rest of their afternoon within the Christmas bakery was just as much fun as the morning. While Mary enjoyed her late lunch, the chocolate macaroons were the first to find their way into the oven. After that, one dough after another was taken out of the fridge and turned into different deliciousness by being pummeled, rolled out, and cut or formed into the right shape. The chocolate cookie dough was still a bit sticky and a perfect excuse for Mary to sneak some more by licking her fingertips. After cleaning the already clean-licked fingers with actual water, she was allowed to touch the next dough.

Obviously, the little princess had the most fun with cutting out all the different cookies that would later on be decorated. There were snowmen, just as she had asked Cas this morning to bake with her; there were angels and stars, Christmas trees and reindeers. There were also simple round cookies that Cas promised would get great decorations. Together, they also made sure there would be an equal number of cookies and cookie rings for the jam jam cookies.

While the two of them had fun with this part of the work, Dean was the king of the oven. He also made the hazelnut crescents in between switching out the baking trays. Cas once more admired his efficiency when working in the kitchen. He tried not to eye the man for too long at any given time, otherwise he wasn't sure he would be able to hold himself back any longer, even with the presence of innocent little eyes in the room.

Mary was delighted when Cas let her taste the jam-honey-and-lemon-juice mix until it was to her satisfaction. Even though it was way messier than if he'd done so himself, he let her spread the mixture over the jam jam cookies, add the ring on top and even let her add the powdered sugar and the last dollop in the hollow of the ring. It took longer, yes, and it was messier, yes, but Cas cared not one bit. Not even when sticky hands pulled on the arms of his sweater or smeared over his chest by accident. Mary's excitement made more than up for that. As did Dean's smile that he caught directed at him from time to time.

For the fun of decorating the cookies, Dean joined them at the kitchen island. The first trays of cookies had already been moved into the living room and every surface between there and the kitchen. They'd left the big decorating fun for last and in the midst the wonderful smell of cinnamon and vanilla and hazelnut and honey and jam and everything else Christmas, they started on their art. Mary insisted on coloring some of the cookies in yellow and blue, with a black dot for eyes. Clearly, that was Flounder, and both men praised her for how great it was. Others were covered in sparkly stuff so much you could hardly see the cookie underneath it. No one cared. Dean took longer with his, trying to make real art that was almost too good to eat. Cas on the other hand kept his simple. The snowmen just got a white outline, a black head as well as black dots in all the right places, and of course an orange nose. Some of the round cookies ended up as reindeer faces, with just a tad of chocolate for the antlers and eyes and red skittles for the nose. It was simple yet so effective.

It was actually already dark outside when they were done. It was still only late afternoon, yet the darkness outside gave all of it an even more Christmasy atmosphere.

After all the cookies were decorated, the wrapping started. Dean had gazillions of little cookie bags and Mary had fun sorting the cookies in the right order – whatever that was – while sneaking a cookie now and then. Some of the bags were set aside for Cas to take, for his brother as much as his coworkers and of course for himself. He didn't even protest, knowing full well Dean wouldn't accept a no.

While they worked on the wrapping, Dean told him that only some were for friends and family. Most of these would be donated to the local orphanage.

See? The perfect guy.

It took a while, but soon Dean's living room was cookie free once more, all the little bags full of goodies sorted. Cas offered to play with Mary so Dean could clean up the kitchen before the princess had to go home.

They were in the middle of a tea party when Dean came back to the living room, just leaning against the wall and watching them. When Cas caught his gaze, he gave him a soft smile, knowing that this would not be the last he would see of this man.

* * *

"Munchkin, your dad just called. He wants his princess back." Dean didn't like interrupting any kind of fantasy setup Mary had thought of, but it really was time for him to take her home.

"But, Uncle Dean, we're in the middle of a tea party, and the Fairy Queen is our special guest."

Wiggling with his eyebrows and sending a playful smirk towards Cas, Dean replied with, "I'm sure he won't mind."

As a reply, Cas only rolled his eyes, while Mary started to giggle. "You're silly, Uncle Dean. Prince Cas is here as Prince Cas. The Fairy Queen sits by his side."

"Forgive me, that really was silly of me," Dean replied, indulging the girl. "Alright, how about you let the Fairy Queen know that you have to relocate this tea party to your other castle. Prince Cas won't be able to join you, yet you'll have the Sasquatch Prince in attendance, so I guess that's something."

Mary actually leaned over towards the doll Dean was sure was supposed to be the Fairy Queen and whispered in her ear. When she got back up, she nodded. "The Fairy Queen is okay with that."

"Well, how nice of her Highness. Now go get your stuff you wanna take home."

Well behaved as Mary was, Dean didn't even need to remind her to thank Cas for playing with her. He got a hug and another kiss on his cheek, making him smile this special smile that brought out his dimples.

Once Mary had left the room, Cas rose and made his way over towards Dean, still smiling. And for some reason, that was enough and Dean finally snapped. Before the other man could even say anything, Dean took a step forward and caught his soft lips for a kiss. The instant and eager way Cas responded let Dean know he wasn't alone in his longing. He could feel Cas' hands on his hips and he had to physically force himself to keep his hands on the man's arm or else this kiss would turn more intense and above the PG rating pretty quickly. The fact that Cas actually stepped closer and moaned into the kiss made Dean almost break. But it wouldn't take long until Mary was back downstairs, since she never had to bring much stuff over. And quick enough, Cas seemed to have caught himself again, ending the kiss and taking a small step back. Just like after their dance, they were so close their breaths mingled.

"I've wanted to do that all day," the blue eyed prince whispered and Dean leaned in for a peck on his lips before replying, "Me too."

When his brain allowed him to become aware of his surroundings again, he noticed that his hands had become sticky, but not from sweat.

"You do know your sweater is all sticky from a certain jam and honey mixture?"

Chuckling almost breathlessly, Cas leant in for another short kiss, before completely pulling away from Dean. "Yes, I know. I should probably take this off before slipping on my trench coat."

"You need to borrow something? Guess it will be cold without this dorky sweater." The way he let his hand wander softly over the white snowflake pattern, as well as the affection in his voice, Dean was sure Cas would know it was only good-natured teasing and in no way something he didn't like.

"That would be great, yes."

"You got it, give me a sec."

One more kiss to go and Dean was on his way upstairs to get one of his hoodies. He made a quick stop in the bathroom to get rid of the stickiness and with the hoodie in hand he also stopped to check on Mary, only to find her playing dress up with one of her dolls, her little back bag all packed up.

"Mary, come on."

He waited until he could be sure that she was actually following him and made his way back downstairs. Only to stop short when he caught sight of Cas. Holy shit, could that guy get any more perfect? Was he seriously wearing a Star Wars shirt?

It was almost a shame that it would be covered up with his hoodie. Although, the moment the man pulled it over his head, there was a completely different yet similar mouthwatering picture in front of him: Cas in his clothes. Dean had never known this to be a kink of his, but Castiel was on a good way turning it into one.

Together, they carefully loaded the cookies into the two cars and once Mary had said her goodbyes to Prince Cas and was in her seat, Dean made his way over to where the other man was waiting at his own car. Without hesitation, he crowded into the other's space, effectively pinning him against the side of the car, and kissing him deeply. He knew Mary couldn't see them from her seat, yet he kept it short. Ending the kiss, he didn't let go of Cas for a moment longer.

"Do you have plans for later tonight?"

"Are you asking me on our third date within two days?"

The fact that Cas apparently counted their Christmas baking as their second date as well was thrilling and once again, Dean couldn't help his wide smile. "Yes."

"It depends. What could actually top our last two dates that would make it worth my time."

So now being teased was also becoming a kink for Dean? Great. Or maybe it was just Cas and everything about him that counted as one big single kink.

Not one to be left out, Dean leaned in closely, pressing his body fully against Cas, as he whispered into his ear. "How about a kid free date for once?" He could feel every small movement of the shudder that ran through the man underneath him. "Maybe in the dark at the movies." At that, he actually nipped at Cas' ear, which let the man to exhale in a sharp huff and clutch at Dean's elbows. He quite liked the effect he had on this handsome guy. "Or in a dimmed restaurant." Dean let his hand sneak inside the opened trench coat and even under the hoodie and shirt. The adrenalin rush of feeling Cas' reaction to this helped him keep his head in the game. "Or maybe back on my couch." There was no way he could get any closer to Cas, so he just moved his hip and leg enough to get it between his legs. The groan the man let out was way too sinful and thankfully smothered quickly, as he buried his face in Dean's neck.

It took a moment, but when Cas was finally able to speak again, his voice once more was roughed up. "Pick me up at eight?"

"You got it."

And with one last kiss, Dean released him and left a debauched man behind, panting for air and leaning against the car. But he was a gentleman, so he didn't get into his own car until Cas had adjusted himself and was able to get into his car and drive away.

Only then did Dean get into the Impala. He almost thought that Mary was already asleep, but her next question taught him otherwise.

"Have you asked him now? When's the wedding?"

Resting his head against the steering wheel and chuckling to himself, Dean decided that the wedding talk with his munchkin could wait for another day. Because this day? This day was just too perfect to ruin it with a cranky princess that didn't get her wish fulfilled.

* * *

 **End note:** Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas time or any other Holiday you might celebrate

A huge thanks to my amazing beta Sarah; to Bekki for helping me with all kid-related questions; to Christine for checking if this could be read as a standalone; and to all the members of those Destiel groups on Facebook I always turn to for some help – you guys are amazing, love you

If everything goes as planned, the next one shot in this series will go up around Valentine's Day – and I can already promise you that it will be an angsty one ;)


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